I HAVE no offspring of school age and my grandson is a few years off entering the system so I’m a bit out of touch with the times for school and college holidays.

One of the first indications I get is when my Little Welsh Mate – an otherwise respectable and respected teacher – rings me at work to sing excerpts of Madonna’s 1983 hit Holiday. I always appreciate that. Another is that the Swindon bus becomes a little less crowded. I would say ‘quieter’ but, to be fair, the youngsters are pretty good.

Sure, some can occasionally be a bit of a pain but a lot of their elders can be just as bad. Some of them might moan about an old bloke snoring for much of the evening journey. Funnily enough, he doesn’t bother me.

The biggest reminder I get of the holidays comes as Wiltshire enters carnival season. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people give up their free time to give us some top-notch entertainment.

Our processions are not as big as those on the Bridgwater circuit and they haven’t got the flavour of Notting Hill but they are what they are – a celebration of local life and community spirit. And few of our carnivals are just about the procession. Pewsey goes carnival crazy and the renowned Wheelbarrow event (no longer a ‘race’ thanks to a state that believes we can’t be trusted to let off steam) has to be seen to be believed.

Devizes has the Picnic in the Park, a tip top free event where all are welcome to bring picnics enjoy the music. Devizes CAMRA runs a small bar but, unlike the Devizes Beer Festival, people can bring their own drink … but that’s a rant for another time. PitP really shows off Hillworth Park off. It’s easy to moan about our local authorities – I’ve done it myself and will do so again – but credit where credit’s due; Devizes Town Council has done a marvellous job in transforming what was a rather tired old park into a beautiful open space of which the town can be proud.

Most Wiltshire carnivals do a great job in mixing the old and the new and marrying tradition with innovation. Those that don’t are the ones that won’t be around for much longer but, to be fair, I can’t think of any like that.

Take Devizes Carnival. The whole shebang starts off with the picnic and ends with a procession exactly three weeks before Pewsey’s. You can bet your bottom dollar that even if you’re just seen Noah buying gopher wood, it’ll be dry during the parade. It just will. It’s like the weather obeys Barbra Streisand. Before that we have a quiz and a confetti battle. Yes, a battle with confetti. People running around, throwing little scraps of paper at each other. That might sound daft but it’s great fun.

Most of the events are fairly traditional but the International Street Festival on August Bank Holiday is anything but. The ‘international’ part of the name is no idle boast and, again, it’s a free event.

Our carnivals aren’t like Rio, New Orleans or Venice. Ours celebrate our local area and are unmistakeably and quintessentially English. You realise how ingrained they are into our psyche when you hear people saying things like “Devizes Carnival on Saturday – the schools must be back next week” or “Pewsey Carnival’s coming up – that’s the end of the summer”. Sure, not everybody takes part or even watches but you don’t hear many people saying they’d like to see them go.

Carnivals are moving forward but that’s only due to the dedication and hard work of a relatively small group of people. They’re always on the lookout for more people to help them too. Even if you can only spare a couple of hours for a bit of stewarding, most carnivals would love to hear from you. Carnivals are events that draw strength and inspiration from the local community. If you can help, give your local organisers a shout. They’ll welcome you with open arms.